Every business and industry faces digital disruption today. Digitally empowered customers demand a much higher level of customer obsession to win and keep their business, and they are forcing firms to redefine their business models. Whether you are in banking, insurance, financial services, education, media and entertainment — essentially, in any industry — digital technologies will disrupt your business. Nevertheless, our research shows that firms currently favor a bolt-on digital strategy over digital transformation, but this will drive only limited value from their digital investments. Digital strategy is not about adding a new mobile app or building a social media presence. It requires a fundamental shift in business strategy, responsibilities, technology capabilities, and organizational structure.

Against this backdrop, Forrester is holding its third series of CIO Summits across Asia Pacific in August and September. The India summit is on August 21, 2014 in Mumbai with the theme of: "Beyond IT: Empower Digital Business In The Age Of The Customer." Just like last year, we expect around 150 CIOs to attend the event. The Summit will focus on the significant shift we’ve seen in CIOs' traditional focus — from the design and deployment of internal systems focused on process control to digital products and services for their customers. Of particular importance on the digital journey are three domains:

How does the CI pro responsible for marketing technology buying make an informed decision when faced with so many options? Well, to quote Ron Davies (feel free to summon the voices of Three Dog Night, David Bowie or Shelby Lynne, if you prefer), “It Ain’t Easy!” To help CI pros with their decision-making, my latest brief The Marketing Technology Buyer’s Dilemma provides advice on how to maintain customer focus while navigating market changes.